Tuition Money Owed to Teachers Will Be Paid Beginning October

Minister of Education, Hon. Rev.  Ronald Thwaites, says money owed to teachers under the tuition reimbursement scheme will be paid in tranches starting in October.

“The sum of $322 million owed to teachers as reimbursement for tuition expenses, while an amount has been paid in small tranches over recent months; beginning in October, and proceeding monthly…but not beyond the end of the financial year in March, the entire amount will be paid,” the Minister said, while addressing the 49th annual conference of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA), held at the Jamaica Grand Resort in Ocho Rios, St. Ann, on August 21.

He also told the delegates numbering over 500, that an early payment of some $650 million due to schools to settle statutory obligations and other expenses is in the making.

The Minister said that upgrading of teachers who have been assigned to basic school positions would be undertaken this year.

Rev. Thwaites said the relationship between the Ministry and stakeholders must be “progressive,” so that the nation’s children will be the beneficiaries. He also praised teachers for improvements in recent results of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations.

“The Ministry looks forward to a progressive, and a respectful working relationship with our teachers, our principals, our parents, and the churches who own or operate more than fifty per cent of all schools in Jamaica; civil society, and other interests, to improve the education system, so as to benefit our nation’s children. They are our primary objective,” the Minister said.

“Statistics from the recent CSEC results demonstrate that teachers are making a significant impact in the classroom with our students. Forty per cent of public school entrants passed Mathematics in the recent CSEC examination, compared to only twenty five per cent of the private candidates,” Rev. Thwaites told the delegates.